page_title: BMP-1 service history
section_title: Poland
hierarchical_section_title: BMP-1 service history / Service history / Foreign service / Poland
caption_attribution_description: English: BWP-40 Polski: Prototyp BWP-40. Zdjęcie wykonane podczas MSPO 93 w Kielcach
context_page_description: The Soviet BMP-1 is a tracked, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle with a long service history.
context_section_description: Poland bought 1,409 BWP-1s (BWP-1 is the Polish designation for two Soviet BMP-1 models – Ob'yekt 765Sp2 and Ob'yekt 765Sp3), from the Soviet Union in 1969. The first BWP-1s began to arrive in Poland in 1972 and continued until 1979. The first vehicles entered service with the Ludowe Wojsko Polskie in 1973. It still plays the role of a basic infantry fighting vehicle. BWP is an acronym for the Polish name for an IFV and stands for Bojowy Wóz Piechoty (which literally translates as Fighting Vehicle of Infantry). As such it is used by many units of the Polish Army, including the 4th armored cavalry brigade (SBKPanc) from Orzysz and the 7th Coastal Defense Brigade from Słupsk. BWP-1s are also used by the Polish peacekeeping unit in KFOR.
  Poland also bought 22 BWR-1D (BRM-1K) reconnaissance vehicles in 1987 from the USSR and 16 BWR-1S, (a modernized BPzV), reconnaissance vehicles from the Czech Republic in the early 1990s. BWR-1S reconnaissance vehicles are used by the 18th Reconnaissance Battalion of the 16th Mechanized Division in Elbląg and the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment from Hrubieszów. Poland also operates MP-31 command vehicles which served as a basis for the ZWDSz 2 command vehicle (see the 'Poland' section, of the BMP-1 variants article for details). There are 1,306 BWP-1s, 33 BWP-1Ds, 5 MP-31s and 6 ZWDSz-2 command vehicles in service as of the first half of 2008. The number of BWR-1Ss and BWR-Ds has not changed. WPT/DTP "Mors" armored recovery vehicles (ARVs), based on the Opal tracked, amphibious multi-purpose APC are used to recover damaged BWP-1s as well as other tracked vehicles weighing less than 14 tonnes. WZT-2 (ARV)s are also used for this task.
  Polish military specialists consider the BWP-1 to be obsolete. Before the political changes of 1989, the Polish Army planned to replace its BWP-1s with BWP-2s but financial problems resulted in just 62 vehicles being purchased. Obtaining sufficient numbers became impossible, Poland was forced to abandon the plan. The vehicles that had been bought were sold in 1995 to Angola. The Polish Army is planning to upgrade a number of its BWP-1s to BWP-1M "Puma" standard, which is a modernization developed in 1999 by the Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne Nr. 5 (WZM Nr. 5) (Military Motorization Plant No. 5) in Poznań. A new unmanned turret was chosen. An experimental company equipped with BWP-1M "Puma" IFVs is to be created in 2011. Four mechanized battalions are to be reequipped from 2012.
  BWP-1s are fitted with passive night vision devices and modern communication equipment while undergoing maintenance. The two main candidates for replacing the BWP-1 are: the Swedish CV 90 and the Polish BWP-2000. The BWP-2000 was developed using the chassis of the SUM Kalina minelayer and based on experiences with the BWP-1 in the 1990s by the OBRUM (Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Urządzeń Mechnicznych – Institute of Research and Development of Mechanical Devices), from Gliwice, with help from Polish experts on IFVs.
  There have been a few other Polish BWP-1 modernizations such as fitting a new small-caliber autocannon, modern day/night vision devices and reactive armor which did not progress through the prototype stage. Others include an experimental fitting of a French Dragar turret and a non-amphibious BWP-40, the Swedish CV 9040 turret mounted on a BWP-1 hull, a joint development of Huta Stalowa Wola and Bofors and the BWP-95 (see the Poland section of the BMP-1 variants article for details). The aim of such modernization is to increase the firepower of the BWP-1 in accordance with the modern standards of the Polish Army and NATO. The preservation of all available army infrastructure (AFV repair bases, training schools) is also important. The main problem with modernized variants of the BWP-1 is a significant increase in the weight of the vehicle which can cause an overload of the engine, the transmission and the suspension.
caption: The BWP-40 prototype on a MSPO 93 in Kielce.
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